Separating Information

Here are some guidelines and information that you may want to advise employees before they leave or separate from the university.    First, the employee must be separated on the Personnel Payroll System (PPS) bundle.  Second, the employee may be eligible to continue their medical, dental, and vision coverage through COBRA.   In which case, they will have another month of coverage even after they separate.   For example, a career employee’s separation date is 1/20/04, but they will still have medical, dental and vision coverage until 2/28/04. 

COBRA (Consolidate Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) 

COBRA gives eligible UC employees, annuitants, and their enrolled qualified family members the right to temporarily continue health (medical, dental, and/or vision) coverage in situations that would ordinarily cause an individual to lose group health coverage.  UC also extends continuation coverage to enrolled adult dependent relatives, same-sex domestic partners and a partner’s children or grandchildren.   For more information, see Continuation of Group Insurance Coverage (COBRA/Continuation Coverage. 

You can download the 2005 COBRA Premium and address information.  Please contact Vanessa Franco at the Benefits Office if you have questions regarding COBRA or if an employee wants to continue their health insurances through COBRA.

DCP/403(b) Accounts

Third, employees may ask what they can do concerning their Defined Contribution Plan (DCP), 403(b) or 457(b) accounts.   Separated employees have options regarding their accounts when leaving the university.  They can do one of the following: 

• Leave their money in the Plan.  Their Plan balance in each Plan, must total at least $2,000.   Plan balances may not be combined. Although they may no longer contribute to the Plan, they may transfer their money among the investment fund options online, subject to the transfer rules and processing deadlines.
• Take a distribution.  The distribution may be payable to them or directly rolled over to a traditional IRA or employer-sponsored plan.  They can request a distribution online.
• Purchase a commercial annuity.

Contact FITSCo (Fidelity Investments Tax-Exempt Services Company) for more information, by going online or by calling 1-866-682-7787. Participant account and recordkeeping services for the UC Retirement Savings Program (Defined Contribution - DCP, Tax-Defered 403(b), and/or 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan Accounts) have been moved to FITSCo. 

Contact

Vanessa Franco, Benefits Assistant, (951) 827-4766, x 2-1430, vanessa.franco@ucr.edu
Tina N. Rodriguez, Sr. Benefits Analyst, (951) 827-1440, tina.rodriguez@ucr.edu
FAX: (951) 827-2192

Address

1160 University Avenue, Suite B
Riverside, CA 92521